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The latest Rutgers-Eagleton poll isn’t all bad news for Gov. Chris Christie — he still has higher favorability than unfavorability ratings (49 percent vs. 30 percent) and a majority still approve of his handling of the Sandy recovery (54 percent). Given that he’s faced a barrage of criticism due to what’s become known as Bridgegate, his approval numbers could be much worse. But his ratings due to Sandy are down significantly from their high last November, when Christie rode a giant wave of Sandy support to victory.

Christie’s approval ratings for his handling of Sandy have dropped 13 points since January and 26 points since November, according to the Rutgers-Eagleton poll.

“The decline in Sandy approval has returned Christie to the pre-Sandy status quo, when about half of the voters supported him and the other half did not or were unsure,” said David Redlawsk, director of the Rutgers-Eagleton Poll and professor of political science at Rutgers University.